Method of and apparatus for finishing blown-glass articles



0. E. GRAY.

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR ,FJNISHING BLOWN GLASS ARTICLES. APPLICATIONFILED NOV.3, 1919.

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D. E. GRAY. METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FINISHING BLOWN GLASS ARTICLES-APPLICATION FILED NOV-3.1919. 1 ,847, Patented Mar. 14, 1922 aSHEETS-SHEET 2.

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D. E. GRAY. METHOD OF AND'APPARATUS FOR FINISHING BLOWN GLASS ARTICLES-APPLICATION FILED N0v.s,1919.

1,409,847, v Patented Mar. 14, 1922.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID E. GRAY, OF OORNING, NEW YORK, ASSIGN OR TO CORNING GLASS WORKS,OF CORNING, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FINISHING BLOWN-GLASS ARTICLES.

Application filed November 3, 1919.

To all whom it may cmwera:

Be it known that I, DAVID E. GRAY, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of Corning, in the county of Steuben, State ofNew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methodsof and Apparatus for Finishing Blown-Glass Articles, of which thefollowing is a specification This invention relates to certainimprovements in method of and apparatus for finishing blown glassarticles, having comparatively thin walls, of which Walls it is desiredto remove certain excess portions. Electric lamp bulbs in the shape thatthey are blown are taken as the particular example of the articles to betreated, and the invention has for its object to provide for the rapidand economical removal of moil from the neck of such a bulb preparatoryto subsequent treatment of the bulb. It contemplates a turret mechanismadapted to hold a bulb and position it at several successive stations,means for driving the turret from station to station, the bulb beingrotated within the turret, means for heating at the several stations anarrow zone of the neck of the bulb above the moil, whereby the moilwill be drawn off of the neck and means whereby the film formed acrossthe neck by such drawing off of the moil will be upturned and melted.

For the purpose above set forth my invention consists in the methodhereinafter described and in the construction, arrange ment andcombination of the several parts of which the apparatus is composed, aswill hereinafter be more fully described and claimed.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which is shown the preferredembodiment of my invention Figure 1, is a plan view of a machineembodying my invention and adapted to carry out the method hereinclaimed, certain portions of the machine being removed and showing bydotted lines parts located be neath the table,

Figure 2, is a fragmental transverse vertical section showing the turretoperating and bulb rotating mechanism,

Figure 3, is a view similar to Figure 2, being at right angles theretoand showing the turret locking mechanism,

Figure 4, is a vertical section taken on Specification of LettersPatent.

Patented Mar. 14, 1922.

Serial No. 835,407.

lines 4-4 of Figure 1, which shows the intermittent drive for rotatingthe turret,

Figure 5, is a plan view of the mechanism shown in Figure 4,

Figure 6, is a detailed sectional view taken on the lines 6-6 of Figure1, at station II with a bulb in the turret,

F lgure 7, is a view similar to Figure 6, taken on lines 77 of Figure 1,at station 111, showing a bulb after the moil is dropped off,

Figures 8, to 12, inclusive, illustrate successive steps in removing themoil from the bulb.

I have shown my invention herein in connection with the machine shown inan application filed August 19, 1919, by James Bailey, serially numbered318,569. For the present purposes the machine may be described asconsisting of a rotating turret having thereon a plurality ofbulb-holding chucks into which the electric lamp bulbs are adapted to beloaded at what is herein called station I for the treatment forming oneof the subject matters of this application, the turret being moved fromtime to time and arrested with the bulb-holding chucks at certain otherstations.

Supported below the top 20, of a suitable table is the main drive shaft21, driven by a motor 22, by means of a gear train 23, carried by an endplate 20 of the table and through a friction clutch 24, all of approvedconstruction.

A counter shaft 25, is also-mounted below the table top parallel .withand in front of the shaft 21, and drives through mitre-gears 26, avertical shaft 27, having thereon, above the table top, a gear 28,meshing with a gear 29, on the lower end of the hub of the turret 30,carrying a plurality (in the present instance, six) bulb-holding heads31.

Keyed on the shaft 21, adjacent to the end plate of-the table is anarm32, having on its ends rack-sectors 33 and 34; and mounted on a' studprojecting from the end plate is a pinion 35, adapted to beintermittently driven by such rack-sectors in the r0- tation of theshaft 21. Thepinion carries a crank in 36, on which is slidably mountedone en of a pawl 37, the free end of which is provided with a taperedpin 38, projecting from one side thereof. The pawl, whlch is made in twoparts pivoted together at 39, overlies the shafts 21 and 25, and extendsi to and forming a part of the arm 32.

between a disk 40, and a wheel 41, both carried on the last named shaft.The disk is provided, in the instant case, with six holes 42, eachofwhich is adapted to receive the pin 38. The pawl carries on one of itssides above the shaft 21, a roller 43. A camtrack 44, is formed upon asegment attacheg coil spring 45, tends to draw the free end of thepawl37, against the wheel 41, and to thus disengage the pin from theholes in the disk 40, while the cam-track 44 acting through the roller43, tends to move the pawl in the opposite direction, the arrangementbeing such that the cam-track is operated for this purpose only on aforward movement of the pawl.

The pitch diameters of the rack-sectors 33 and 34, and their lengths,and the pitch-diameter of the pinion 35, are such that the pinion willbe given a complete rotation on a full rotation of the main shaft 21,although, as will be hereinafter described, this movement of the pinion35, will be intermittent, and be with pause, while the rotation of theshaft 21, will, as stated, be continuous. The throw of the pawl 37,effected by a half rotation of the pinion is such that if the pinthereon is in engagement with a hole in the disk 40, such disk and theshaft 25, will be. rotated, in the instant case, through 60 of arc. Toprevent overthrow of thepinion 35, notches 47 are formed inthe-periphery of the inion,

and in these notches a sprin'g-presse brak-.

ingroller 48, is adapted to engage. I

ssuming that the shaft 21 is continuously driven in the operation of thedevice here described, and that the parts are in the position shown inFigs. 4 and 5, in which the rack-sector 34 is just engagin thepinion'35, and in which the pin 38 is he d in one of the holes in thedisk 40, by-reason of the cam-track 44 engaging the 'roller 43, thefurther rotation of the shaft 21 in the direction of the arrow, willturn the pinion 35 through an arc of 180, the braking roller '48entering one of the notches 47 at the end of such movement. During thismovement, the pawl 37 will be projected forwardly, turning the shaft 25through 60 of arc. At the completion of this movement the rack-sector 34will go out of mesh with the pinion 35, while the camtrack 44 will bemoved away from the roller 43, permitting the spring 45, to withdraw thepin 38 from the hold in the disk, the wheel 41 acting as a sto for thislateral movement of the pawl. ontinued rotation of the shaft 21 nowcauses the racksector 33, to mesh with .the pinion 35, which will bethen given a further movement through 180,retractingthe pawl 37, whichat this time, is not in engagement with the disk. After the sector 33has passed out of mesh with the pinion, the latter is held locked T fromfree movement by the roller 48, and as the shaft 21. completes itsrotation the cam 44 engages the roller 43, and laterally shifts the pawl37, to cause the pin thereon to enter the hole in the disk 40 followingthe one which is previously engaged, thus restoring the parts to theposition shown, but with an advanced movement of the shaft 25 through60. If, however, as just .described, the pin 38 does not mesh properlywith the next hole in the disk 40, so that the cam 44 by engaging theroller 43 may move the free end of the pawl laterally, the opposite endof the pawl will slide laterally upon the wrist piil, thereby flexin aleaf spring 46, carried by the awl an engaging the head of the wrist pm.The forward motion of the pawl will then cause the pin 38 on the freeend thereof to move about the face of the disk 40 until it registerswith the next hole in the disk, which it will then enter under thepressure exerted by the spring 46.

For the purpose of preventing over-running of the turret, a latchmechanism is pro vided. This, which is shown in Fig. 3,

comprises a suitable mounted spring-pressed detent 50, adapted tosuccessively engage notches 51 on the bottom of the hub of the turret30, the detent being adapted tor-release the turret at a roper time bymeans of cam 52 fast on sha t 21. The notches are properly located to beengaged. by the detent when the bulb-holding heads of the-turret are attheir several positions. Cooperating with the latch mechanism justdescribed, and suitably secured to one end of the shaft 25, and alsoconnected to the end plate of the table 20, is a friction brake 53,which resists rotary movement of the shaft 25 and of the turret, andthus decreases the impact of the latter against the detent. of theturret is hollow and a hollow standard 56, mounted upon the table top,extends the entire length of the hub, a suitable bearing 55,beingolocated belowthe hub. Supported by.suita the hollow standard 56 isa vertical shaft 57, which atv its upper end carries a gear 58, andwhich is continuously driven from the main shaft 21, by the bevel gears59 and 60.

The bulb-holding heads 31, are suitably mounted in the turret and atequi-distant points there around, and each is provided with a tubularpinion 61 meshing with the gear 58 and continuously rotated thereby, thepinion having a central opening for the reception of asuitably removabletubular chuck62. The chucks may be of proper size and shape to supportthe bulbs to The hub le bearings placed at each end of be finished bythe machine. As it is desired to remove the moil from the lower end ofthe neck of the bulb, while the bulb is in for.

and the turret. In view of this fact, it is to engage with the Walls ofthe bulb to support the .same at the proper distance from the top of thetable. Above such conical bore each chuck has its upper surface beveledoutwardly and upwardly, so that if during the operation of the machine abulb should break, the resultant particles of glass grill be led *to andfall through the central ore.

To prevent particles of glass from clogging the teeth of the gearing ontop of the turret, there is provided a cover plate there- Thiscover-plate is composed of segments 64 covering the gears 61 and havingflared inner walls which encircle the constantly revolving chucks; and acentral plate 65 covering the gear 58. By preference the segmentalplates 64 are suitably secured by means of screws passed into bossesformed on the bulb-holding heads 31.

Mechanism has thus been described for holding bulbs and progressivelymoving them from station to station with,a suitable period of arrest ateach station, and with the bulbs continuously rotating around their ownaxis.

A bulb may be loaded by any suitable means into the turret chuck, andthis is preferably accomplished by the mechanism shown in thesaidapplication of Bailey.

Located beneath the turret at stations I and II are burners 110 and110", respectively, each supported by a suitable bracket 111, whichlatter is adj ustably secured to the top of the table by the clamp screw111, and the elevating screws 111*. The burners are so disposed thatthey each project a flat horizontal sheet of flame at high velocity uponthe neck of the bulb held in the chuck at the named stations. The bulbat station I may have the general appearance shown by Fig. 8. Therelation of the drive mechanism for the loading tray to the mechanismDuring this period the flame burner 110 is located. A third burner 110of similar construction is located at station III. shown by Fig. 7.

The table is provided with apertures 115, 116 and 117, each respectivelylocated at station I, II and III, (see Fig. 1), and below each apertureis located a suitable discharge chute. The chutes 119 and 120 forstations II and III are shown in Figs. 6 and 7. An inclined sheet-metalguard 121 is secured to the top of the table adjacent to stations I andII, and the purpose of this guard is to deflect the broken-off particlesof glass, which often accumulate adjacent these stations, towards theapertures thereat. The aperture 117 in the table at station III isprovided with a sheet-metal guard 122, comprising two upstanding sidewalls, and this guard supports a knife 123 which extends across theaperture 117 immediately to one side of the axial lines of the bulb heldat station III.

A burner 112 is located above the turret, and adapted to throw a brushflame around the top of the bulb at station III. A vertical burner 113is located in the aperture 117 at station III to one side of the knife123, and is arranged in axial alinement with a bulb held in the turretat such station and designed to project a pointed high velocity frameupwardly into the neck of such bulb.

Surrounding the burner 113 and extend ing across the aperture 117beneath the knife 123, is an inverted U-shaped hood 124, which has anopening 125 to permit the flame from the burner to pass upwardlytherethrough. Thus when the moil drops off the neck of the bulb atstation III, as will be hereinafter described, it will be deflected bythe knife 123, and the hood 124, and will, therefore, not obstructthepassage of the flame from the jet burner 113, as will be readily understood.

lVhen the high velocity flame from burner 110 strikes the heated zoneformed on the neck of the bulb by burner 110, the glass is furtherheated, whereby the weight of the moil causes the neck to elongate, asshown by Fig. 9 (see Figs. 6 and 8). As the neck of the bulb elongates,the thickness of the glass wall at the heated zone decreases, and if thebulb is then moved to station III, the high velocity flame from burner110, Wlll puncture the thin wall of the elongated section, and therevolution of the bulb ,will cause the cut to be carried around thebulb, thus cutting off the portion of the bulb below the flame. Duringthis operation there is a tendency of the glass to contract and thusseal the neck by forming a film across the cut-ofl l point, asillustrated by Fig. 10.

. It is til-destroy this film that the upper burner 112 and thejet-burner 113 are emsoftens-and melts such film, and, aided by thepressure of the heated imprisoned air,

- punctures it. Under these conditions, it has been found that thepunctured film will retract and gather around the edges of the 'neck ina slight bead, as shown by Fig. 11.

The length of the time that the bulbs remain at station I, II and III,the amount of heat thrown out by the burners 110, 110 and 110,is suchthat, under normal conditions, the glass forming the neck ofa bulbmethod by which the excess neck portions of the bulbs are removed undernormal conditions, it is to be understood that often these normalconditions do not prevail at the glass factory. Thus, should the bulb be"-delivered to the turret while it is extremely hot, the burners 110 and110",- at stations I and II, will heat the narrow zone of the neckportion to such an extent that the moil will drop off -at station IIinstead of at station III. If this happens, the moil will fall throughthe aperature 116 and discharge through the chute 119, and the filmacross the neck of the bulb will be severed at station III, as beforedescribed.

The moil having thus been removed, in station III the bulb is stepped bythe turret mechanism through stations IV, V and VI. At the two formerstations such other operations may be performed upon it as may bedesired, while at station VI it may be removed from the turret, as isdescribed in the said Bailey application.

Having thus descrlbed my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patcut is 1. In adevice of the character described,

the combination with a bulb-holder, of

means for locally heating a zone around the neck of a bulb held thereinto permit the 7 drawing away ouhe lpwer end of the neck thereof, and aburner directing flame into the end of the neck left by the separationof such lower end thereof.

2. The method of finishing a bulb blown from glass which consists ofpre-heating the neck portion of the bulb above the moil end to permitadrawing out of such heated portion by the weight of the moil, thensevering the drawn-out portion by means of a high velocity flamedirected at such pre-heated portion.

3. The method of finishing the neck of a bulb which consists ofpre-heating the neck portion thereof above the moil to permit a drawingout of such heated portion by the weight of the moil, severing theheated portion by directing at high velocity a narrow flame at suchpre-heated portion, and flaring the remainin tains heat.

4. The method of finishing the neck of a bulb which consists ofpre-heating the neck portion thereof in a narrow zone to permit adrawing out of such heated portion by the weight of the moil, andcutting said elongated portion' by means of a high velocity narrowflame.

5. In a device of the character described, the combination with abulb-carrying mechanism having periods of rest at a plurality ofstations, a burner located at one of such stations and adapted topre-heat a narrow zone around theneck of a bulb at such station, and aburner located at a succeeding station and adapted to re-heat suchpreheated zone to cause the neck to elongate, and to puncture saidelongated neck and sever the same.

6. I11 a device of the character described, means for puncturing a filmformed across the end of a bulb on drawing off a portion of the neckthereof, comprising a burner adapted to heat the air imprisoned withmsaid bulb to'expand the same, and a burner directed on said film andadapted to puncture the same.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name this 28th day of October,1919.

- DAVID E. GRAY.

g neck portion While it still re-

